Multi-stimuli Responsiveness Research Articles

Highly breathable and stretchable strain sensors based on porous films for human motion and gas detection

With the rapid development of flexible wearable sensors in the fields of medical detection and environmental monitoring, it is urgent to develop multifunctional sensors with high sensitivity, fast response, wide sensing range, excellent comfort and multi-stimulus response. In this paper, a porous thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film with high stretchability and breathability was prepared by facial liquid phase separation, and a flexible wearable sensor was developed through vapor deposition of polypyrrole (PPy) within the porous TPU film matrix. The fabricated sensor can detect pressure, strain and gas, has a wide pressure detection range (up to 98 kPa), fast response speed (100 ms), sensitivity of up to 0.33 kPa−1 and working stability. Furthermore, it has an extremely high tensile strength of 790 % and can operate in the 0–400 % stretch range with a maximum sensitivity of 238.2. Importantly, the flexible porous TPU/PPy multifunctional sensor has excellent breathability and the capability to monitor NH3 gas, and the gas detection limit can reach 10 ppm. This work provides a new route for achieving high-performance and wearing comfortable strain sensors with broad application prospects in human activity detection and NH3 gas monitoring devices.

Multi-stimulus response AIE fluorescent hydrogel for “Blind box” multistage secure information encryption

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) hydrogels have been widely applied in the field of information security due to their tunable optical properties and aggregation-induced emission properties. The introduction of spiropyranoid organic fluorescent dyes with multi-stimulus response into AIE hydrogels will endow them more functions. However, the traditional 2D anti-counterfeiting has the problem that the hidden information is easy to be copied. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a new anti-counterfeiting strategy to improve the level of information security. In this study, we present for the first time a new strategy of combining multi-stimulus response AIE fluorescent hydrogels with shape memory polyurethane to apply them in the field of information security. The polymer skeleton of fluorescent hydrogel (PCHS hydrogel) is composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) through hydrogen bonding. Four [4-(3, 5-dicarboxyphenyl)] tetraphenyl ethylene (H8ETTB) and 1- (2-hydroxyethyl) −3, 3-dimethylindolin-6 ’-nitrobenzo spiropyrone (SP) are chosen as the fluorescent fillers. PCHS hydrogel is printed onto shape memory polyurethanes (SMPU) by a flexible electronic printer. As a result, the hidden information printed on the SMPU needs to be decrypted at temperatures (80 ℃) and under ultraviolet irradiation(365 nm). Moreover, the hidden information can be destroyed by adding H+ or applying external force after heating to 80 ℃. This effectively improves the security of the information and prevents its disclosure. Interestingly, we can choose the destruction method to make the destruction of information more flexible. This strategy has great potential in the field of information encryption and anti-counterfeiting.

Flexible multicolor-emitting lanthanide-alginate hybrid fibers with multi-stimuli responsiveness for anti-counterfeiting

Flexible multicolor-emitting lanthanide-alginate hybrid fibers with multi-stimuli responsiveness for anti-counterfeiting

Electrical anisotropy in two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide/ polypyrrole-based ordered conjugated system ensure multi-stimulus response signal adapter

Electrical anisotropy in two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide/ polypyrrole-based ordered conjugated system ensure multi-stimulus response signal adapter

Reinforced Nacre-Like MXene/Sodium Alginate Composite Films for Bioinspired Actuators Driven by Moisture and Sunlight.

MXene-based soft actuators have attracted increasing attention and shown competitive performance in various intelligent devices such as supercapacitors, bionic robots and artificial muscles. However, the development of robust MXene-based actuators with multi-stimuli responsiveness remains challenging. In this study, a nacre-like structure soft actuator based on MXene and sodium alginate (SA) composite films is prepared using a straightforward solvent casting self-assembly method, which not only enhances the mechanical performance (tensile strength of 72MPa) but also diversifies the stimuli responsiveness of the material. The composite actuators can be powered by external stimuli from renewable energy sources, from moisture inducing a maximum bending angle of 190 degrees at a relative humidity (RH) of 91%, and sunlight irradiation generating a maximum curvature of 1.45 cm-1 under 100mW cm-2. The feasibility of practical applications, including moisture-responsive flowers and walkers, sunlight-responsive oscillators, and smart switches, is demonstrated through comprehensive experimental characterization and performance evaluation. The work presented here provides insight into the design of robust actuators via the utilization and conversion of environmentally renewable energy sources.

Edible Ultralong Organic Phosphorescent Excipient for Afterglow Visualizing the Quality of Tablets.

Stimuli-responsive ultralong organic phosphorescence (UOP) materials that in response to external factors such as light, heat, and atmosphere have raised a tremendous research interest in fields of optoelectronics, anticounterfeiting labeling, biosensing, and bioimaging. However, for practical applications in life and health fields, some fundamental requirements such as biocompatibility and biodegradability are still challenging for conventional inorganic and aromatic-based stimuli-responsive UOP systems. Herein, an edible excipient, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCC), of which UOP properties exhibit intrinsically multistimuli responses to excited wavelength, pressure, and moisture, is reported. Impressively, as a UOP probe, SCC enables nondestructive detection of hardness with superb contrast (signal-to-background ratio up to 120), while exhibiting a response sensitivity to moisture that is more than 5.0 times higher than that observed in conventional fluorescence. Additionally, its applicability for hardness monitoring and high-moisture warning for tablets containing a moisture-sensitive drug, with the quality of the drug being determinable through the naked-eye visible UOP, is demonstrated. This work not only elucidates the reason for stimulative corresponding properties in SCC but also makes a major step forward in extending the potential applications of stimuli-responsive UOP materials in manufacturing high-quality and safe medicine.

A multi-stimulus responsive nanogel actuator with the π-π stacking interaction self-assembly and application for bioinspired smart skin with light, heat and humidity responses and superb UV resistance

The fabrication and development of assemblies of bionic smart skin with multi-stimulus response and multi-color tunable properties is a major challenge in the field of advanced materials and smart wearable devices. In this work, an amphiphilic functional nanogel switch connected by long polyether chain segments containing bis-spiropyran with the π-π stacking interactions was designed. A multi-stimulus responsive color-changing nanogel actuator (SP-PEG-NA) was constructed using ionic liquid-assisted self-assembly. A composite bionic smart skin (WPU/SP-PEG@CF) was prepared by compositing SP-PEG-NA, waterborne polyurethane (WPU) and flexible cotton fabric based on physical cross-linking. The smart skin possesses multiple color-changing properties in response to light, heat and humidity. Even under ultra-low UV intensity (0.025 mW/cm2), WPU/SP-PEG@CF also exhibits significant photochromic properties. Surprising, the smart composite constructed with the nanogels possessed extremely high UV shielding performance (UPF 628.68) and photocontrolled hydrophobic-hydrophilic transition properties. The self-assembled nanogel actuators greatly improved the stimulus–response sensitivity. The multiple supramolecular noncovalent interactions of the nanogel actuator such as hydrophilic long polyether structures hydrogen-bonding and π-π stacking interactions endowed nanogel highly self-assembly properties. They showed excellent multi-stimulus response in color-changing, versatility and reversibility. The multi-stimulus responsive and multifunctional smart composites prepared using self-assembled nanogel has potential applications in smart wearable materials, sensors and information display.

Manifesting the multi-stimuli-responsive behaviour of triazole-substituted triphenylamine.

The development of multi-stimuli-responsive (MSR) materials is a tempting yet intriguing challenge due to the absence of a defined design approach. In this study, we designed and synthesised two compounds based on triphenylamine, namely, TPA-Tz1 and TPA-Tz2. The photoluminescent investigations reveal the MSR behaviour of both compounds. TPA-Tz1 shows reversible mechanochromism with a blue-shifted emission due to changes in intermolecular interactions. Furthermore, both compounds exhibit solvatochromism in solvents of varying polarity. Detailed studies suggest that solvatochromism in TPA-Tz1 can be attributed to twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT), while in TPA-Tz2, it is due to intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). Additionally, both compounds display acidochromic properties in solution as well as in the solid state due to the protonation of the triazole ring. All changes in emissions are corroborated through theoretical calculations. The results provide insights into the intricate interplay of molecular interactions and structural rearrangements that contribute to the compound's multifaceted responsiveness.

Multi Stimuli Responsive Dual Aggregation-Induced Emission and Photochromic Behavior of a Tetraphenyl Substituted Triphenylamine Derivative and its Application as Anti-counterfeiting Agent.

A multi-stimuli responsive tetraphenyl substituted tripehnylamine-based aggregation induced emissive (AIE) material coupled with spiropyran was prepared. Owing to the presence of AIE and photochromic moiety, the molecule exhibits emissive aggregates, photochromism, and acidochromism. The multiple stimuli sensitive behavior of the molecule was explored for anti-counterfeiting behavior on TLC plate and commercial banknotes. The fluorogenic and photogenic response under UV and visible light established the potential of the candidate as a new generation encryption material.

Temperature-Switching Flexible Strain Sensors Based on Vanadium Dioxide for Intelligent Packaging Applications.

Flexible sensors are promising for intelligent packaging and artificial intelligence, but the required multistimulus response is still a challenge in external environments. A candidate material for such multistimulus response is VO2 due to its unique semiconducting properties. Herein, W-doped VO2(M) with a tunable phase transition temperature was prepared by the hydrothermal method, and then, VO2(M)-based flexible sensors were fabricated employing a direct-write strategy, where conductive inks with VO2(M) powders were patterned onto various substrates. These sensors achieve dual responses to temperature and strain and exhibit high stability (over 2000 stretch-release cycles) to accurately monitor various statuses (opening and closing, temperature changes, etc.) of intelligent packaging. The spatial pressure distribution of different objects was discerned by the prepared VO2(M)/poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) sponge flexible pressure sensor arrays, and the information was successfully edited using the Morse code. The sensing signals from the intelligent packaging were collected and remotely transmitted to intelligent terminals via a wireless local-area network to achieve real-time monitoring of the packaged contents. Therefore, in this work, we not only designed new flexible sensors with multiple stimulus responses but also demonstrated the potential applications of W-doped VO2(M)-based flexible sensors in intelligent packaging.

Organic polymorphic crystals with multi-stimuli response: excellent mechanical elasticity, novel two-stage heterotropic photochromism and self-reversible acidichromism

Organic polymorphic crystals with multi-stimuli response: excellent mechanical elasticity, novel two-stage heterotropic photochromism and self-reversible acidichromism

Stimulus-Responsive Hydrogels for Targeted Cancer Therapy.

Cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease and remains a global health challenge affecting millions of human lives worldwide. Despite advancements in conventional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, the rise of multidrug resistance, tumor recurrence, and their severe side effects and the complex nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME) necessitates innovative therapeutic approaches. Recently, stimulus-responsive nanomedicines designed to target TME characteristics (e.g., pH alterations, redox conditions, enzyme secretion) have gained attention for their potential to enhance anticancer efficacy while minimizing the adverse effects of chemotherapeutics/bioactive compounds. Among the various nanocarriers, hydrogels are intriguing due to their high-water content, adjustable mechanical characteristics, and responsiveness to external and internal stimuli, making them promising candidates for cancer therapy. These properties make hydrogels an ideal nanocarrier for controlled drug release within the TME. This review comprehensively surveys the latest advancements in the area of stimulus-responsive hydrogels for cancer therapy, exploring various stimuli-responsive mechanisms, including biological (e.g., pH, redox), chemical (e.g., enzymes, glucose), and physical (e.g., temperature, light), as well as dual- or multi-stimuli responsiveness. Furthermore, this review addresses the current developments and challenges in hydrogels in cancer treatment. Our aim is to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of stimulus-responsive hydrogels for cancer treatment, offering novel perspectives on their development for cancer therapy and other medical applications.

A Universal Strategy for Constructing Hydrogel Assemblies Enabled by PAA Hydrogel Adhesive.

Hydrogel is a significant type of building block for constructing macroscopic assemblies, the construction of which usually entails the incorporation of supramolecular groups. However, supramolecular group recognition is specific and only suitable for assembling two particular modified hydrogels, but not a versatile strategy. Herein, a universal strategy without modification process is proposed using polyacrylic acid (PAA) hydrogel as the adhesive layer to assemble different kinds of hydrogels. Furthermore, hydrogel assemblies with various shapes and multi-stimuli responsiveness are constructed by assembling different stimuli-responsive hydrogels with PAA hydrogel. Therefore, hydrogel assemblies are able to complete bending motions upon applying corresponding stimuli. This strategy provides a universal approach for constructing hydrogel assemblies, and also shows the potential for developing soft robots with versatile functions.

Architectural regulation of complexes for the design of metallo-supramolecular assemblies for visualizing dual-channel detection of CO

Metallo-supramolecular assembly (MSA) offers a prospective modulation tool for fabricating high-quality gas sensing platforms. However, visualizing multi-channel sensing of gaseous CO with high selectivity and sensitivity remains a formidable challenge. Here, we present a new strategy for the construction of MSA systems based on Pd(II) coordination bonds and host-guest interactions. The regulation of Pd(II) complexes is introduced into the design of MSA, and the photophysical properties, gelation behaviors, oscillatory mechanical characteristics, self-healing capabilities, and multi-stimuli responsiveness of the MSA systems can be easily modulated. The resulting two MSA systems, Pd/2BCN@6 and 2 Pd/2BCN@6, show great differences in sensing CO at solution-state (fluorescence change) and gel-state (gel-to-sol transition). Pd/2BCN@6-based gel provides a fast visual sensing (< 15 min) and efficient removal (∼15 %) of gaseous CO. 2 Pd/2BCN@6-based fluorescent system exhibits fast response (< 44 s), high selectivity and lower DLs: 7 ppm and 90.5 nM for gaseous CO and CORM-3, respectively.

Photo/Mechanical/Acidic Multi-Stimuli Responses and Information Encryption Design of Acylhydrazone Derivative.

Stimuli-responsive crystalline materials have received much attention for being potential candidates of smart materials. However, the occurrence of polymorphism-driven stimuli responses in crystalline materials remains interesting but rare. Herein, three polymorphs of an acylhydrazone derivative, N'-[(E)-(1-benzofuran-2-yl) methylidene] pyridine -4-carbohydrazide (BFMP) were prepared. Form-1 undergoes a photomechanical response via E→Z photoisomerization under UV irradiation, accompanied by a decrease in fluorescence intensity and a change from colorless to yellow. Two types of Z→E thermal isomerization mechanisms with significant differences in conversion rate were observed at different temperatures in form-1. The solid-melt-solid transition has a faster conversion rate compared to the solid-solid transition due to freedom from lattice confinement. The transition from form-2 to form-3 can be achieved under grinding, coupled with a significant decrease in fluorescence intensity. The similar molecular stacking pattern of form-2 and form-3 provides a structural basis for the grinding-induced crystalline transition behavior. In addition, the presence of the pyridine moiety imparts an acidochromic property. The combination of photochromism and acidochromism explores the possible applications of acylhydrazone derivatives in information encryption.

Dual Stimulus Responsive GO-Modified Tb-MOF toward a Smart Coating for Corrosion Detection.

Smart-sensing coatings that exhibit multistimulus response, rapid indication, and reusability are in urgent need to effectively enhance the practicability of coatings while accurately detecting metal corrosion. In this work, a reusable corrosion self-reporting coating with multiple pH and Fe3+ stimulus responses was first constructed by the integration of a composite fluorescent probe into the resin matrix. This composite sensor was constructed by combining a lanthanide metal-organic framework (Ln-MOF) based on terbium and trimeric acid (H3BTC) with graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets (GO@Tb-BTC). The incorporation of GO formed a sea-urchin-like structure, thereby increasing the specific surface area and active sites of the probe. The coatings were characterized by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), visual observation, and fluorescence spectrophotometry. The surface morphology, wettability, and adhesion of the coating samples were analyzed using SEM, XPS, hydrostatic contact angle test, and an adhesion test. EIS measurements in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution for 72 h demonstrated the superior corrosion protection performance of the 0.3 wt %/GO@Tb-BTC/WEP coating compared to blank coating, with the charge-transfer resistance reaching 4.33 × 107 Ω·cm2, which was 9.5 times higher than that of the pure coating. The bright green fluorescence of GO@Tb-BTC/WEP coating exhibited a turn-off response when there was an excess of OH-/H+, but it demonstrated a reversible turn-on fluorescence when the ambient pH returned to neutral. Furthermore, such Fe3+-triggered fluorescence quenching responded to concentrations as low as 1 × 10-6 M. The fluorescence quenching rate of both intact and damaged coatings surpassed that of visual and EIS detection methods. Significantly, the fluorescence in scratches was effectively quenched within 25 min using 0.3 wt %/GO@Tb-BTC/WPU coating for visual observation. GO@Tb-BTC demonstrated exceptional corrosion self-reporting capabilities in both epoxy and polyurethane systems, making it a versatile option beyond single-coating applications.

Natural ceramic clay and cucurbituril guest-host reconfiguration for smart light, humidity, solvent and temperature responsiveness

Aiming to endow natural minerals with fast, high-sensitivity, and controllable smart light, humidity, solvent and temperature responsiveness, a novel ceramic clay and cucurbituril (CB) guest-host system (MVCB) inspired by nature was self-assembled and rearranged via an ingenious and simple design successfully. For the first time, the multi-functional MVCB not only displayed a high intelligent multi-stimuli responsiveness as light, humidity, solvent, and temperature switches, but also had multiple selective molecular recognition responses because of different organic vapor with CB and asymmetrical bilayer clay. For instance, due to the factors of guest-host and slow release, the average response speed of self-assembled shuffling the MVCB in methanol was as high as 108°/s compared with bilayer film without CB (20°/s). Besides, the MVCB exhibited controllable swift movement and was bending for grabbing three times its own weight. Moreover, the ultra-wide operating temperature of the MVCB from was ranging −196 to 300 °C under extreme condition. More interestingly, the MVCB presented a unique and compliable self-driven, smart switch, shape memory, environmental awareness and soft robotic gripper owing to the asymmetrical swelling and supramolecular of the CB. This work not only brings a simple, cost-effective, large-scale, and efficient strategy for multi-functionalized natural minerals materials, but also opens potential applications for intelligent response, extremely resistant substances, energy conversion and soft robotics.

Ultrarobust Actuator Comprising High-Strength Carbon Fibers and Commercially Available Polycarbonate with Multi-Stimulus Responses and Programmable Deformation.

Polymer-based actuators have gained extensive attention owing to their potential applications in aerospace, soft robotics, etc. However, poor mechanical properties, the inability of multi-stimuli response and programmable deformation, and the costly fabrication procedure have significantly hindered their practical application. Herein, these issues are overcome via a simple and scalable one-step molding method. The actuator is fabricated by hot-pressing commercial unidirectional carbon fiber/epoxy prepregs with a commodity PC membrane. Notable CTE differences between the CF and PC layers endow the bilayer actuator with fast and reliable actuation deformation. Benefiting from the high strength of CF, the actuator exhibits excellent mechanical performance. Moreover, the anisotropy of CF endows the actuator with design flexibility. Furthermore, the multifunction of CF makes the actuator capable of responding to thermal, optical, and electrical stimulation simultaneously. Based on the bilayer actuator, we successfully fabricated intelligent devices such as light-driven biomimetic flowers, intelligent grippers, and gesture-simulating apparatuses, which further validate the programmability and multi-stimuli response characteristics of this actuator. Strikingly, the prepared gripper possesses a grasping capacity approximately 31.2 times its own weight. It is thus believed that the concept presented paves the way for building next-generation robust robotics.

A multi-responsive actuator with sensing capability based on poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide)/poly (sodium acrylate) Janus hydrogels

A Janus hydrogel composed of temperature-responsive poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) and pH-responsive poly (sodium acrylate) (PSA) was fabricated from inexpensive monomers using a facile synthesis route. The asymmetric swelling between PNIPAM and PSA in different media and at different temperatures makes the Janus hydrogels have a multi-stimuli response, meanwhile, the interpenetrating layer between PNIPAM and PSA indicated a good interfacial adhesion for easy transfer of internal stress and deformation. Thus, the Janus hydrogels exhibited excellent advantages in actuator/sensor engineering, demonstrating the potential to grip and release objects in toxic media, encrypt, monitor and control safety in chemical production, and alert temperature of flammable and explosive solvents. In addition, the features of the Janus hydrogels incorporated with carbon nanotubes, such as the high sensitivity, large stretchability, and rapid and linear response, enabled their application as strain sensors for wearable technologies in the recognition of body movement and health detection.

Indoloquinoxaline-based organic material enabling multi-stimuli response

A new triphenylethylene-modified indolo[2,3-[Formula: see text]]quinoxaline TPE-IQ has been synthesized by a mild Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction. The thermal, electrochemical, photophysical, aggregation, and acidofluorochromic and mechanofluorochromic properties were investigated. TPE-IQ shows typical solvatochromism and aggregation-induced emission enhancement features. TPE-IQ also exhibits interesting reversible acid and mechanical force-responsive properties. This work highlights the development of multi-stimuli responsive organic material containing indolo[2,3-[Formula: see text]]quinoxaline moiety.